Unspoken
by sej1986
Summary: Chloe's POV of my other fic, Ultimate Betrayal. I rated it a T again for the same reasons. Warning: character death. JackChloe. Please R


Chloe's POV of "Ultimate Betrayal."

This came to me a couple of nights ago, at first I wasn't sure if I should write it but it wouldn't leave me alone!

**Unspoken**

The silence of CTU was deafening, distracting almost. It was ironic, being the centre of attention when all she tried to do was blend into the background.

It was precisely for that reason that she now kept her emotions hidden, her face straight, unreadable.

She heard Asherton demand something of Jack. Probably the chip, she wasn't sure. She was having a hard time concentrating on anything other than her own breathing, trying not to think about the fact that the next one could be her last.

Audrey's sobs were the only noise that got to Chloe, the only noise she allowed into her conscience. For some reason, she needed to hear the other woman crying, reminding her of what normal people would do in a situation like this.

It wasn't every day you had a gun pointed at you.

Well, not if you were an analyst, that was for sure. Chloe couldn't remember anything like this ever having been in the job description. If it had been, she sure as hell wouldn't have signed up. If she'd known then what she knew now, if she knew how many people she was going to lose… -she could hardly call them friends, could she?- then she would have taken that other job, the 9-5 in a top IT company. It might not have been as exciting as CTU, or as well paid, but she knew she could have been happier, happier not knowing this side of life existed.

But she wouldn't have met Jack Bauer.

Chloe looked at him now, saw the pain he was in. She wished more than anything that he didn't have to be in this situation. She would have gladly taken his place, although she wasn't sure she could have made the decision any better than he could.

If only she had worked quicker on that chip…

_No._

Although no-one had spoken, Chloe's head jerked upwards at the sound of that one word. No-one else seemed to have heard it.

_Don't blame yourself._

Their eyes met again. He was communicating silently with her, comforting her from his distance across the floor. Tears pricked the backs of her eyes but she would not let them fall. She would not let him see her cry.

"Jack, just do something! Please!"

Chloe's mind went back to that day they brought him back from China. When he'd walked through the doors with Curtis and Buchanan, the whole floor had fallen silent, as if out of respect for a broken hero. Of course, he'd been whisked away to medical but not before his eyes had found hers. Something had passed between them, if only for a few seconds, but she had felt it. It had left her feeling breathless.

She'd been so engrossed in her work that she hadn't seen Audrey arrive, hadn't noticed as the tall blonde ran right past her and out into the back corridors leading to the medical wing….

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"_Chloe, where are you going?"_

"_I don't have to tell you my every move, Edgar."_

"_But what about this task Mr. Buchanan has us working on?"_

_Chloe sighed, turned around. "You can do it yourself, can't you? You keep telling me you're better than me at this."_

_She turned on her heel and walked purposefully away. She hadn't meant to snap at Edgar, but she just didn't have time right now for idle gossiping._

_The walk down to medical seemed to take longer than normal. Chloe couldn't help but smile to herself at the thought of seeing Jack, at last. Although she had to admit she was apprehensive about the condition he would be in._

_Stop it! she told herself. This is Jack. Who cares what he looks like?_

_She paused just a few doors down from medical and stood against the wall to collect herself. She hadn't gone down there with any preconceptions, but she couldn't help but hold a picture of him in her mind, a picture of him the last time she'd seen him three months ago. He'd looked so happy…_

_Soft laughter, almost a giggle, floated up through the door._

_Chloe's breath caught in her throat. She was glad to have the wall behind her or else she thought she might have collapsed right there in the corridor._

_Not daring to believe, she moved quietly to the door and pushed it open._

"_Jack, you're awake!"_

_As she stood silently in the doorway, partially hidden by a curtain, Chloe realised Audrey's laugh had been one of relief, relief at seeing the man she loved open his eyes and look into hers._

_Chloe couldn't look away._

"_Jack, it's me, Audrey. What are you looking at?" Audrey's eyes followed Jack's to the darkened spot by the door. "There's nothing there."_

_She hadn't seen her. This was it, she had to leave before…_

_Jack's eyes hadn't left hers. It was as though he hadn't registered that Audrey was there._

_Again, Chloe felt breathless. She read his eyes; although unable to speak he still found ways of communicating. Somehow they had always known what the other was thinking._

_It's okay._

_No, Jack, it's not okay! She felt like screaming at him, all her pent up emotions of the last twelve weeks threatening to overspill._

_You trust me, don't you?_

_You know I do._

_Then go. It's okay, I promise._

_He was looking away from her now, up at Audrey who was gazing down at him in amazement._

_She managed to hold it together long enough to get out of the room and down the hall to the bathroom. Locking herself in a cubicle, she felt one, then another tear slide down her cheeks, and soon she was shaking with tears she feared would never stop…_

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Beside her, Audrey had grown silent. She could see Bill Buchanan, his head in his hands. Not far from him, Curtis Manning and his tac team were poised, weapons at the ready. And Edgar… poor Edgar, staring silently at her from just behind Jack, tears unashamedly running down his face.

It came to her then that she could stop this.

_Jack._

He looked at her, though she felt he hadn't really taken his eyes off her since this had begun.

What she saw in his eyes made her want to run to him, to hold him in her arms and protect him from this evil that was causing him so much agony. In her own way, that was what she was going to do.

_I understand. It's okay. We both know what you have to do._

He just nodded, and Chloe thought she saw his eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

Finally, he looked away, decision made.

"No. You're not having this chip, you son of a bitch."

An almost inaudible murmur went through the ranks at Jack's decision. Chloe risked a look over at Edgar, whose head was now bowed. She could see his shoulders shaking. Buchanan wasn't doing much better. Although Jack couldn't see it, the older man had wiped his hand across his eyes and was struggling to hold it together. But Chloe knew he wouldn't blame Jack.

"I had a feeling it would be like this." Chloe heard the tiredness in his voice- he'd given up. He had nothing more to live for now that he'd lost the one thing that had been driving him.

There were tears on Jack's face now, and she knew he didn't care who saw them.

Buchanan said something… was he trying to make the best of a bad situation? Chloe thought so. There was nothing he or anyone else on the floor could do now.

He shot her first, like she thought he would. The second shot wasn't too far after and she felt his body slam into hers as they both fell to the floor. An anguished cry filled her ears… some part of her brain registered that the voice was Jack's… she'd done this to him.

She landed awkwardly, Asherton's body crushing her legs. Someone dragged him off her, pronounced him dead. Blood was fast seeping through her clothes when she felt gentle yet strong arms around her, a voice choked with tears pleading with her to stay with him.

She had to reassure him, had to calm him down.

"It's alright, Jack." She barely heard herself say the words, her mind floating in and out of consciousness.

"No! It's not alright!" Chloe felt his face in her hair, heard his helpless sobs. There had to be something she could do to help him… she struggled to get her mind to focus.

Again, she thought back to that day in medical, although the images were becoming hazy now. She could still see him, could see Audrey looking at him expectantly, the joy obvious on her face.

"Let me go, Jack. You trust me, don't you?"

"Oh God, yes, I do." He lifted his head and looked into her eyes, which were now dimming and flickering shut.

"Then go. Go to Audrey" She was letting him go, doing the only thing she could do now. The only thing she had ever known how to do. Protect him.

"I love you, Jack."

Chloe closed her eyes for the last time, her final thought being how she wished it hadn't taken her so long to tell him. As a calm settled around her, she heard him whisper the words back to her, and she was finally at peace.


End file.
